


Frost Apprentice

by Thisisentertaining



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: AU, Book 9 - Ranger's Apprentice: Halt's Peril, F/M, Informant!Tooth, Pickpocket!Jack, Poisoning, Rangers AU, Shopowner!Bunny, Slight Violence, Spoilers, Theif!North, contains direct quotes from Halts Peril
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-01 18:52:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1047372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The renegade outlaw group known as the Outsiders has journeyed from kingdom to kingdom, conning the innocent out of their few valuables. In their escape the group has picked up a few new members, a fearsome man named Pitch Black and his gang of "Nightmares.<br/>Will, Halt, and Horace are fast on their trail, still reeling from the shock of the death of the king of Clonmel. When Will makes his way to a smugglers town to question a man who took Tennyson overseas he meets a teen with hair as bright white as his grin, who points Will to a group who want to stop Pitch as much as the Rangers want to stop the Outsiders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heron

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to pretty much follow Halt's Peril, and I will be using some quotes from it, which I do not own!  
> I can't guarantee how often I can update, but I'll try and do it as quick as I can!

Will took a deep breath as he officially crossed the threshold of where the nicer part of the town met with the seedier side. Not that there was really that much of a difference, this was a smugglers town after all. Tug’s ears twitched in all directions as the horse snorted worriedly. “Yeah, I don’t really like the looks of this place either. Hopefully we can leave soon.”

The horse moved his head just enough to give his rider an agreeing look and a thin smile appeared on Will’s lips. He eyed the puddles that lined the port town’s roads and pulled his hood up further to protect from the water that continued to fall from the rain even as he shivered slightly in his position atop the small horse. It was late fall, practically winter, and there seemed to be no end of the rain in sight. Then again, if the wash-away road and well-worn buildings were anything to go by, it probably rained no matter the season.

“Summer and winter, nothing but rain,” the young man said quietly to his horse. Unsurprisingly he got no reply. “Except, of course, when it snows. Presumably that’s so you can tell its winter.”

“Hahaha!” Will jumped as an unsuspected, very human laugh answered his word’s to his horse. Tug’s ears shot straight up even as he jerked his head. Suddenly a young boy seemed to appear out of the rain, eyes bright blue and light hair plastered to his skin by the rain. Bright teeth gleamed in the moonlight from the boy’s large grin. Will felt his heartbeat slow as he realized there was no threat in the lad’s easy posture. “You’re right. It’s how we tell the seasons. It won’t be too long until its winter again though.”  
The young Ranger blinked at the teen in front of him for a moment as Tug snorted in agitation. For a moment Will marveled at the teen who had somehow managed to not only sneak up on a ranger, but a ranger horse as well. Though, if it hadn’t been raining then Tug probably would have been able to smell him and they would have gotten a better warning. A light chuckle left the boy’s mouth as he leaned against a crooked staff. “Hello? What, do you only talk to your horse?”

The young ranger shook himself slightly. “Sorry. I didn’t think anyone else would be out here in weather like this.”

The lad shrugged. “You get used to it after a while. This is your first time coming here, isn’t it?”

“What makes you think that?”

“You brought your horse with you instead of leaving it at Sandy’s. You better keep a good eye in him if you want to be on horseback when you leave.”

“Sandy? I don’t know who that is. I’m staying at an Inn in a… different part of town.”

The boy giggled, understanding ‘different’ to mean nicer, before rolling his eyes. “Another proof that you haven’t been here before. Sandy owns a stable a little ways back, it’s the only place in town that's never had a single theft. Everyone keeps their horses there.”

“Tug is a bit smarter than most horses, he’ll be fine.”

“Whatever you say. Anyways, no one who’s been here before would ride in at night with their bow unstrung. That’s a pretty nasty looking longbow, but it isn’t exactly dangerous as it is.”

Will grinned in the moonlight and laid a hand over his knives. “It’s not my only weapon.” The boy laughed in response as the ranger continued, ignoring any danger that Will and his weapons presented. “I was going to string it before I went anywhere.”

“You might want to do it now, the Heron isn’t far. I can show you the way.”

“How did you know where I was going?”

“Please. It’s not like there’s anywhere else to go at this time of night. C’mon.” The boy called, turning back and running lightly down the road, seeming to almost float. “I’ll show you the way after you…” By the time the boy had turned around again Will’s bow sat strung against the ranger’s back. “Sweet! Well, you coming or not?”

With another laugh the boy flit down the alleyway, Will following behind with Tug at a slow trot. The horse met his rider’s eye once more. You sure about this kid? The young man could only shrug in response. A hand went to rest over his Saxe knife as the ranger slowly followed the stranger, his hold loosening only when he saw it: a single-story building at the end of the street, with a low-lying thatched root hanging just above head height. A sign creaked low over the window, depicting a sea bird.

“I guess that could be a heron.” Will mused to himself. The boy laughed and moved to stand beside the Ranger, even going so far as to lean against Tug’s flank. The cloaked man ignored the boy for a moment, gazing around at the surrounding buildings. They were all dark and ominous, closed for the night just as the strange boy had said. He did notice that a few of the shops were sporting much nicer signs than the crudely designed bird depicting the bar.

“It’s not really like the tavern keeper has to advertise much around here.”

Will smiled at the boy even as the teen moved away and started towards the building with a shiver and a shake of his drenched hair. The boy tossed back a wave as he bundled up in his cloak and made his way into the warm, if dingy, looking tavern. The smile fell off of the Ranger’s face as unease spurned in his stomach. The kid had just appeared in the middle of town at night, in the rain, just to lead the way to the tavern. He hadn’t even asked for a bit of change for his trouble, didn’t seemed to be playing any kind of angle. That was unheard of in a town like this. If anything it made Will want to go into the Heron even less. Who knew what was waiting beyond those doors. Will wouldn’t put it past a town like this to send out a kid to lead travelers straight into a trap; waiting to mug whoever happened into town.

With a sigh the Ranger dismounted, and gripped his bow tighter. He would just have to risk it. The tavern was the only way he knew where he could contact Black O’Malley. Without O’Malley he had no way to find Tennyson. Tug eyes the mean-looking tavern and rolled an eye at his owner.

'Are you sure you want to go in there?' 

“I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy now, you know.” Will led his four-legged friend into the stableyard the horse would be sharing with a single tired-looking mule. The ranger didn’t bother tethering his horse as he led the creature to a protective wall to keep him out of the wind. Ranger horses were trained to stay near their owners. Tug shook his head as he ambled to the side of the wall.

___'Just yell if you need me. I’ll come running.' ____ _

____With a smirk and a nod Will left to head towards the tavern, entertaining the image of his horse bursting through the tavern doors in the middle of a bar brawl before shaking his head and focusing on the matter at hand. He gripped his bow unconsciously as he neared the door, fully prepared to be attacked._ _ _ _

____Which is why he stood in the open door in shock for a moment as upon entering he was accosted by only the scent of stale ale, smoke, and sweat. His eyes glanced over the bar’s patrons even as they studied him, relaxing only when the majority of the room returned to their drinks and a surly voice called for him to close the door. Stepping forward the Ranger allowed the door to slam shut behind him and once more scanned the room. Finally he caught sight of the boy who had led him to the bar in the first place. The teen was sitting on the back of a chair right in front of the fireplace, balancing with his feet on the chair’s seat as he fiddled with something in his hands. Surprisingly the pale hair that Will had noticed earlier beamed pure white in the firelight._ _ _ _

____Will allowed his eyes to wander away from the boy as he made his way to the bar. The tavern keeper’s eyes followed the ranger as Will sat down, a dirty washcloth swirled inside a cup, only making it dirtier._ _ _ _

____“Drink?” the man asked._ _ _ _

____“Not out of that.”_ _ _ _

____The man shrugged. “Suit yourself, Ale or ouisgeah?”_ _ _ _

____Will wrinkled his nose at the mention of the strong, malty drink before catching sight of a coffee pot by the wall. “I’d like coffee.”_ _ _ _

____“I’ve got ale or ouisgeah. Take your pick.” The man snarled when Will nodded toward the seldom-used coffee pot. “None made. I’m not making a new pot for you.”_ _ _ _

____“But he’s drinking coffee.” The Ranger nodded to the side. Inevitably the tavern keeper followed his gaze to see whom he was talking about, only to choke as an iron grip tangled in the collar of his shirt and drug him forward over the bar. The stranger’s eyes were suddenly uncomfortably close, dark brown and extremely dangerous. With a hiss of steel a Saxe knife came to lay on the counter._ _ _ _

____The tavern keeper looked around desperately for help, but there was nobody else at the bar and none of the customers at the bar seemed to notice. The only one looking their way at all was Frost, the teen sitting on top of the chair by the fireplace. Frost’s bright blue eyes held nothing but an amused and calculating interest and he showed no inclination to help._ _ _ _

____“Aach… mach co’hee,” The man finally croaked._ _ _ _

____The grip released slightly on the man’s collar. “What was that?”_ _ _ _

____“I’ll… make… coffee,” he spat out, panting to catch his breath._ _ _ _

____Will immediately released him. “That’s wonderful. I’ll wait here. Don’t change your mind, will you.” It took only a few moments for a steaming mug of coffee sat before the ranger. “I’ll take sugar if you’ve got it, honey if not.”_ _ _ _

____“I’ve got sugar.” The man turned to get the bowl and started as he faced the stranger once more. A gold coin lay gleaming on the counter, more money than the tavern keep would earn all night. The man hesitated to reach for it, after all the Saxe knife still lay on the counter inches from the stranger’s hand._ _ _ _

____“Two penn’orth for the coffee is all.”_ _ _ _

____Will nodded and pulled out two coins. “That’s more than fair, you make good coffee.”_ _ _ _

____The Heron’s owner pocketed the two copper bits, eyes still locked on the gold as he coughed lightly. The stranger fixed him a serious glance. “Was there something…”_ _ _ _

____“The… gold. I’m wondering… is it… for anything at all.”_ _ _ _

____“Well yes it is for a matter of fact. It’s for information.”_ _ _ _

____Instantly any nervousness the tavern keeper possessed faded away. This, he was used to. “Information is it? Well, this is the place to ask and I’m your man to be asking. What is it you want to know, your honor?”_ _ _ _

____“I want to know if Black O’Malley has been in this morning.”_ _ _ _

____Immediately the nervousness was back. “O’Malley is it? And why are you looking for him?”_ _ _ _

____“Well now,” Will began as his hand hovered over the gold coin. “I was wondering whose gold coin this was. Did you put it here by chance? No. I don’t recall that happening. As I recall it, I was the one who put it here, in return for information. Is that how you see it?”_ _ _ _

____The man cleared his throat nervously. The young man’s voice was low and menacing. “Yes. That’s right.”_ _ _ _

____“And correct me if I’m wrong, but usually the one who’s paying the piper is the one who calls the tune. Or in this case, asks the questions. Would you see it that way too?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes sir. That’s how I see it.”_ _ _ _

____Will smiled at the respectful ‘sir’. He had been wondering if he’d been overdoing it, but obviously not. “So unless you’d like to match my coin with one of your own, let’s keep it that I’m asking and you’re answering. The Black O’Malley. Is he in tonight.”_ _ _ _

____“No, sir. Not yet. He’s usually in a little later than this.”_ _ _ _

____“Then I’ll wait,” He said, finding small table set away from the other patrons. “I’ll wait there. When O’Malley arrives, you won’t say anything to him about me. And you won’t look at me. But you’ll tug on your ear three times to let me know he’s here. Is that clear?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes sir it is.”_ _ _ _

____“Good. Now…” He used the large Saxe knife to cleave the gold coin in two and left one half on the bar. “Here’s half now as a gesture of good faith. The other half once you’ve done as I ask.”_ _ _ _

____The tavern keeper hesitated for a moment before claiming his half of the coin. “Would you be wanting anything to eat while you wait, sir?”_ _ _ _

____Will glance at the glasses above the bar, each dirtier than the next and rubbed together the fingers that had become greasy from their brief contact with the bar top. “I don’t think so.”_ _ _ _

____He headed to the lonely table and sat to nurse his coffee, watching the tavern’s patrons as he nursed his coffee. However, his gaze continually returned to the boy still defying gravity on the chair. There was a large circle around the boy, as if none of the townsmen wanted to get close to him. Will’s lips pursed as he pondered the reason why, the boy had seemed fairly pleasant, though looks could be deceiving in a town like this._ _ _ _

____Despite Will’s scrutiny the boy was almost completely ignoring him, intent on playing with whatever was in his hand. It wasn’t until the ranger caught sight of a flash of gold that he realized with a sinking stomach why the teen was so steadfastly avoided. With a sudden movement Will’s hands were in his purse, searching for his remaining gold coin. He’d hoped that it was just buried but… nope. It was gone. The ranger’s head shot up and he glared at the boy, but the child just caught his gaze and smiled cheekily back, knowing that Will wouldn’t want to draw too much attention to himself before his target came. And that the ranger wouldn’t want it to be common knowledge that he was so easily pickpocketed._ _ _ _

____Anger and embarrassment rose in a scarlet flush across the young man’s face, but the thief simply chuckled silently to himself and glanced towards the door. Will rose, unsure of what he was about to do but unable to let the teen get away with stealing from him. However, before he could do anything the door burst open, a group of three men stalking commandingly into the room. It was as if all conversation stopped, the only sound the crackling of fire and slight screeches as patrons moved their chairs further away from the newcomers. Will caught sight of the tavern keeper out of the corner of his eye, the man was tugging on his ear almost frantically, not that the ranger needed to sign to realize that his quarry had finally arrived._ _ _ _

____O’Malley gave a sneer to the room at large before sauntering over closer to the fireplace, heading for the table were the teen sat at. The young pickpocket threw the gold coin into the air, too focused on playing with his riches to notice the newcomer’s arrival. A lightning fast meaty hand shot out, grabbing the coin from its arc in the air and the teen spun around fast enough to get whiplash. “Hey!”_ _ _ _

____Will almost expected the boy’s eyes to widen in fear when he saw who grabbed the coin, for him to cower and run off with his tail between his legs like any of the other men in the tavern when facing O’Malley. The boy surprised him yet again by simply standing in anger, his feet still on the seat of the chair so that his young form towered over the brawny smuggler’s. “Give that back. It’s mine.”_ _ _ _

_____'Technically, it’s mine.' _Will thought, but made no move to insert himself into the scene.__ _ _ _ _

______Black O’Malley smirked. “I’m feeling generous tonight, Frost, so I’ll consider this payment for sitting in my spot. Now get.” He pulled a purse from under his cloak and Will winced as he saw his negotiation payment fall into the man’s pocket. Jack however, growled at the man._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Give me my money back.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______O’Malley rose to full height, almost eye to eye with Jack even as the boy stood on the chair. “No, I don’t think I will. After all, brat, you still owe me for selling out my customers a few weeks ago.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’re just mad that I was able to get to the people looking for them before you could take their money for nothing. I’ll do it again too. After all,” The boy’s voice rose then, coming out almost like a yell as he pointedly avoided glancing at the ranger in the corner. “I have more information than everyone in this tavern put together, and I’m a lot more likely to give it out.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Or I can just shut you up.” O’Malley growled, and almost simultaneously he and his men surged forward to grab at the boy, only to end up with empty hands as Frost deftly avoided them all, even going so far as to deliberately run into the smuggler’s side as he made his escape, jumping onto an empty chair and running across the tabletops to the tavern’s door._ _ _ _ _ _

______Will glanced at the tavern keeper who shrugged and nodded. It was true, after all. Frost was the best one in town to go to for cheap, fairly accurate information on nearly everyone. The Ranger quickly gulped down the last dregs of his coffee, at a loss of what to do for the moment. If he left now, the entire tavern would likely know where he’d gone and they wouldn’t be happy. With him or the kid. But if he waited too long Frost would assume that he wasn’t interested and would simply disappear. Before the young man could make up his mind the relative silence of the tavern was broken by a loud, angry whinny and a loud crash. The tavern quickly burst into laughter._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Who’s the idiot that left their horse out for Frost to grab?” Someone yelled and Will immediately leapt to his feet, barely remembering to give the tavern keeper his money as he rushed to the stables with laughter sounding behind him._ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Bennet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little background on Jack... and Jamie appears! I love that kid, too bad he won't really be in the fic much.

When Will made it out to the stables he was startled to hear the sound of bright laughing. Tug was standing in a defensive position, unharmed but obviously irritated; the teen sprawled out in a manger laughing to himself. The boy quickly popped out of the feeding bin, grin unfading. “You were right; your horse really can take care of himself.”

The Ranger felt a smile tug on his lips despite himself. “He’s well trained.”

The Boy dusted himself off, “Yeah, no kidding. Come on, I don’t like to conduct my business this close to the tavern.”

Will allowed one eyebrow to rise skeptically, a look he had stolen from Halt, as he realized what the boy had done. “I suppose then that it was completely coincidental that you gave me a perfectly good reason to leave the tavern immediately when you tried to steal my horse?”

“Oh good,” The boy said with smile as he stooped down to retrieve his staff from where it had fallen after Tug bucked him off, a large, bulging purse now tied to its crook. “You caught on. You wouldn’t believe how many idiots yell at me for that.”

Will hummed in agreement as he pat Tug’s neck to calm the beast. “If you keep doing that trick it’s going to stop working.”

“Nah. Every once in a while I’ll actually take one and sell it to one of the sailors that likes trading horses. I can usually get a bit of money out of it. Speaking of,” Frost began rummaging through the purse and pulled out a gold coin. “Here, this is yours.”

The Ranger took the money hesitatingly as the teen led them out into the street. “Thanks?”

The boy laughed. “No, it’s really yours. Same one I took earlier.”

Understanding began to dawn across Will’s face. “The same one Black O’Malley took.”

“I’ve been trying to get to his purse since I got here, but it’s always hidden beneath that cloak of his. I needed something to make him bring it out.”

A smile found its onto the Ranger’s mouth. “Not a bad plan.”

“It worked. And since I got this lovely haul, I figured why not give you your coin back for helping me. Whether you knew it or not.”

“Hm. So did you draw me out here just for this, or do you have any actual information?”

“I know everything about anything that happens around here. It all depends on what you want to know. Though, the middle of the street at midnight isn’t exactly the best place to do business. I’d say we’d head back to your Inn, but if it’s the one I’m thinking of I’m not exactly aloud there. Some kind of stupid rule about no snow allowed in the bedrooms… or barroom… or kitchen… Tell ya what, in a town like this nothing comes free, but…” A snarky grin stretched across his face. “Since you helped me out I’ll consider it even with a good meal by a fireside.”

Will shrugged. He’d been planning to wait in the woods for Halt and Horace anyways. Frost laughed. “Great. If you want, you can just bring food from the Inn or a different Tavern or something.”

“I can cook.”

“Great! I know the perfect clearing too, right off the main road. Race you to the forest!”

And like that the boy was gone, sprinting off into the night and occasionally using his staff to vault him over or onto various obstacles in front of him. Will floundered for a moment before jumping on to Tug and rushing after the bright teen, though there was so little distance that the two young men reached the tree line at the same time, Jack breathless and laughing. Without a word the teen led Will through the trees to a small, cleared out area between the road and a large pond. A small fire pit rested near the water, partially protected by the trees. At least, protected enough for a fire to flourish despite the cold rain that continued to fall morosely down.

“Is this where you always, uh, conduct your business?”

“Nah. I can work all over town, this is my favorite though. It’s a nice place to camp out, right next to the pond where I wo… where I can get water.” Will watched the boy for a moment, concerned by the slip, and Frost coughed nervously. “T-that is, in the summer. When it’s not so cold and raining.” The Ranger’s gaze didn’t waver and Jack nervously fidgeted to a bush that hid a pile of dry sticks and began piling them in the fireplace. “My flint got ruined a couple of days ago and I haven’t been able to get another, it’s why the fire was one of my conditions.”

Will finally relented in his scrutiny, reluctantly accepting that he really had no business butting into the stranger’s life, and began creating the fire as the teen sprawled out on the damp ground beside him. “So …Frost? Do you like stew?”

            Bright teeth glowed in the moonlight. “The name’s Jack Frost: pickpocket and thief extraordinaire and master of snowballs and fun times, and I’ll eat anything.”

            “Come up with that title yourself?” Will asked with a roll of his eyes as he began unloading the ingredients.

            “Hmm, Mostly. Your name?” Jack asked as he pulled out O’Malley’s purse and began counting the coins by the firelight, letting out a soft cry of victory once he reached a certain amount.

            “Will Treaty. Aren’t you worried about O’Malley? He’s going to know it was you.”

            “Nah. I don’t plan on sticking around here very long. This was kinda a last hurrah.” He scooped up the coins, dumping half of them back into O’Malley’s purse and the rest into a pouch of his own. “So, what did you want to ask big, mean, and ugly about?”

            Will’s easy smile dropped as they got down to business. “What do you know about a group, about twenty people, that passed through here a little while ago. It would have been led by a man in white robes who was probably being carefully watched by a pair in purple.”

            “You mean Tennyson and his band of merry thieves? Yeah, I know all about them. Why were you talking to O’Malley?”

            “I heard that he was the one who gave them passage.”

            Jack burst into laughter. “Boy did you get it wrong. I don’t know what happened to them but by the time they got here they didn’t even have enough for me to justify stealing. There was no way they could have afforded O’Malley. They couldn’t have afforded any sane smuggler.”

            “Then how did they get overseas?”

            Frost snorted. “I said any _sane_ smuggler. Pitch probably didn’t even charge ‘em.”

            “Pitch?”

            “Pitch Black. Tall, super skinny, weird accent, creepiest man alive. The local kids all call him the boogie man. And that’s the kids of a smugglers town, they’ve seen some pretty freaky stuff. I’m pretty sure he likes the nickname, he even calls his men ‘nightmares’.”

            “So you’ve got a Pitch Black and a Black O’Malley in the same town?” Will asked, a small smile curling up his lips.

            Jack snorted in response. “Hardly. It used to just be O’Malley. He took up the ‘Black’ part after Pitch left town with Tennyson. Apparently they struck up a deal. Pitch always more like a pirate than a smuggler, real fan of pain and fighting and fear. Especially fear. He and Tennyson made a deal, something about Pitch being an anti-prophet of their god, or following its demon counterpart or something. Anyway, that way him and the nightmares can just go around and hit all the towns before Tennyson gets there and harass them for a couple of weeks, then ‘ohh, great prophet arrives and makes them all leave’. So Pitch gets to terrorize people and Tennyson gets rich. Nice little arrangement for the two of them.”

            Will nodded, it sounded a lot like Tennyson’s methods before, but if this Pitch character was as bad as Jack made him seem… “Do you know where they went?”

            The boy began looking sheepish. “Kinda, but I would have to… Hey! You’re looking for them so that you can try to stop Tennyson, right?”

            “… Yeah.”

            “What would you do if I knew of a bunch of guys who really have it out for Pitch? Like, they wouldn’t hesitate to go after him?”

            “Well I-“

            “And they’re all really good fighters!”

            “I would-“

            “And they know where Pitch was going!  
            “Then I-“

            “And one of them has a ship!”

            Will waited a moment, when Jack seemed to be done he laughed lightly, spooning out the finished stew and handing it to eager hands.

            “I think I would want to have to talk with them.”

            “Great!” The boy shoveled in a few heaping spoonful’s of soup before speaking again. “You’d probably want to talk to Bunny first.”

            “Bunny? AS in long ears and fluffy tail?”

            “Yeah. His real name’s E. Aster Bunnymund but he’s fun to annoy. He owns a sweets shop in town. It doesn’t open until around noon, but you can’t miss it, he has this huge, beautiful mural on the side of his shop, some kind of spring wonderland. He has a really weird accent and can be kinda grouchy but he’d be the easiest one to talk to. You’d have to get past the yetis if you wanted to talk to North and Sandy… well, he’s just hard to have a conversation with.” He giggled, as though sharing some kind of inside joke.

            “Is this the same Sandy as the one who owns the stable?” Will asked as Tug nickered slightly. Jack smiled and nodded, both young men missing the two answering whinnies come from the forest.

            “Yup! And I seriously do recommend leaving your horse with him. There are a lot worse dangers to horses out there than me, even if you can’t ride off with them.”

            “I’ll keep that in mind.”

            “Yeah, his stables are right out of the woods, there’s this huge gold horse statue in front of it. It’s great made completely out of san-“

            “Will?” A voice called out from the forest and Jack immediately dropped his spoon into the empty bowl. When a second voice called in greeting the boy bropped the bowl in front of Will and grabbed his staff, jumping to his feet.

            “It’s alright, those are just my friends.”

            “You didn’t mention anyone else coming.”

            “Sorry, I wasn’t sure they’d make it in tonight. You can stay though; they’ll want to hear this too.”

            The white-haired teen shook his head. “I don’t like being outnumbered. Just find Bunny and Sandy and you’ll be fine.” He turned and disappeared into the woods, surprisingly running off into the direction of the lake instead of the town.

            Will frowned as the teen disappeared. He’d grown to like the animated boy’s personality, and he was concerned for him. Jack’s expression when he said he didn’t like being outnumbered…

            “Will, is that you? This isn’t the Inn is it?” Horace asked jokingly and Will shook his head, smiling weakly at his friends. The smile became a little more real when Horace sat down and immediately filled Jack’s empty bowl and began to eat.    

            “Just waiting for you guys to catch up. I hoped you’d be along today.”

            “We got the message you left for us at Fingle Bay,” Halt told him, eyeing the food and looking off into the direction that Jack had disappeared to. “So we pushed on early this morning. Was someone else here?”

            Will nodded, allowing his eyes to trail back to the lake where the boy had disappeared. “A kid I met in town. We made a deal, information for dinner.”

            “Any luck?” Horace asked between bites. Will had traveled ahead to find out where Tennyson was headed while the other two stayed at Dun Kilty to tidy some things up.

            “Some. Tennyson has fled the country like you thought, Halt.”

            The grizzled ranger nodded. “Where’d he go?”

            “He didn’t know, but the kid could point me to a couple of people who did. And they have transportation. Tennyson struck a deal with one of the smugglers, named Pitch Black, invited him to join the outsiders. Luckily, Pitch has a lot of enemies.”

            Halt’s brows rose at the name. “Well at least he has a feel for theatrics.”

            Will grinned. “Yeah. Well, I was just told by a kid named Frost to meet with Sandy and Bunny. Names aren’t exactly normal here.”

            Horace grinned. “I guess not.”

            “So,” Halt began, “What happened to your mysterious informant?”

            A frown fell on Will’s lips as his forehead creased. “… he says he doesn’t like being outnumbered and disappeared. I think he told us everything he an anyways.”

            “Oh? I’m not sure about that. The things with informants in towns like this: they always know more than they tell in towns like this.”

            Will shook his head. “I’m not so sure. He didn’t seem concerned with getting money out of me or anything.”

            “Still, I wish he had stuck around. I’m sure I could give some more out of him.”

            Will eyed his elder doubtfully. “You think so?”

            “People love talking to me. I’m an excellent conversationalist and I have a sparkling personality. Ask Horace. I’ve been bending his ear all the way from Dun Kilty, haven’t I?”

            Horace nodded. “Talking nonstop all the way, he’s been, Be good to see him turn all that chatter onto someone else.”

            Will chuckled and swung himself up into Tug’s saddle. “I’ve got us rooms at an Inn in the upper town. It’s quite clean- and reasonably priced.”

            Horace perked up at that. “What’s the food like?”

* * *

 

“Mrs. Bennet?” Jack called, knocking softly of the slightly sagging doorway and deftly avoiding the twins as they rushed into the room to join the rest of the children around the small fire. It had frosted over the night, and at some point the rain had turned to snow. The ground was barely dusted, but the first snowfall of the year never failed to excite the children, and Jack was no less enraptured by the powdery white. The entire morning had been speant on a feroscious snow battle, the children’s enthusiasm more than making up for the lack of ammunition. Now, soaked and tired, the group was more than happy to sit near the fire while Jamie spun tales of yeti’s and fairies.  

            “Jack!” The woman cried, slightly startled. Her eyes widened even more when the teen beckoned her outside. She told Jamie he was in charge and followed the teen. No one was near but the lad had disappeared into the woods while the woman spoke to her son and now returned wearing a blue cloak, its deep hood making his face unrecognizable. She looked around to make sure they were alone before signing. “Already? Oh, Jack… you were just here the other day.”

            “I know, but…” He tugged the indigo hood down to hide more of his face. It was a rare blue and he only ever wore it when visiting the Bennet house. Otherwise, he wore his run of the mill brown one. No one ever suspected that the man who so often visited Mrs. Bennet was the same teen that continually stole from the people of the town. When he was Frost, the pickpocket, people only noticed his white hair. When he was Jack, the boy, they only noticed his unusual blue cloak. It was safer that way. “I needed to give you this.”

            He dropped the sack containing half of O’Malley’s coins into her hands. The woman gasped, knowing well where it came from. Jack couldn’t meet her eyes. “I made sure there weren’t any big coins, so it won’t be conspicuous, but wait as long as you can to spend it, okay? There- there’s a lot there. With what I brought you the other day, it should last a while. Until Jamie or Monte can get an apprenticeship at least. Just… just spend it well. I won’t be able to help you anymore after this.”

The woman shook her head sadly and tucked the money into a pocket before wrapping the boy up into a hug. “Oh, Jack…”

Mrs.Bennet’s husband died just after she had become pregnant with her youngest daughter Sophie, leaving a seven year old son, Jamie, behind as well. The woman and her two children were instantly considered as good as dead. Nobody in town gave to beggars and there was really only one other way for women to get money in a smugglers town, and she was too old to appeal for that line of “work”. So, constringed to her fate, the woman decided to take in the orphans that ran amuck through the town and try to extend to them a little kindness in her last days by giving them a place to call home as they died together. Then, Jack had come.

He’d arrived in the forest around town in the middle of the group’s last winter, and Mrs. Bennet had sobbed on his shoulder when she was forced to deny him a place to stay. They had no room, no food, and no money. The children were in rags and completely covered the floor space when they slept. The boy held no ill will towards the woman for denying him sanctuary. He had instead allowed her to cry and made the children smile with jokes and tricks, despite their hunger.

The next day he had returned with several small loaves of stale bread and ate nothing while the children feasted. He claimed to have eaten his fill before, but when the woman asked how he had gotten the food, the boy said nothing. It continued like that for a while, and Mrs. Bennet felt her ragtag family safe, the boy helping them survive the winter and early spring while her own gardening skills sustained them for the summer and fall. Jack had even, through the use of cleverly disguised teasing, pranks, and hidden letters, called the attention of some of the shopkeepers in the nicer part of town to their plight.

 Suddenly the children got clothes and toys during the winter Holiday, and they had coal to light a fire, courtesy of an old Cossack named North. Sweets and treats and hope would arrive on the worst nights, and once a year in spring the children would awake to find candies hidden in their yard, and the kids were always welcome in the chop of one E. Aster Bunnymund. If a child lost a tooth, they took it to Mrs. Toothania and she would give them a coin and write down their favorite memory for them. Sandy would invite them to his stables, and somehow tell them stories without words, showing them to sculpt incredible things out of the gold-colored clay he dug up and teaching them to ride his horses. She and the children would thank them every time they saw them in the streets. Not Jack though. They never talked to Jack, even if the town saw him playing with the children regularly. It wasn’t safe.

It wasn’t long before his infamy as a pickpocket grew, but at around that exact time Jamie had accidentally knocked the teen’s spare cloak into a vat of indigo die when they played a hiding game. Jack had latched onto the idea to hide his identity immediately. No one knew that he was the one keeping the Bennet’s alive. Yes, Frost played with the children, but he was an orphaned child himself. No one though it odd.

And if he got Mrs. Bennet to wear the cloak sometimes and made sure that the town’s biggest loudmouths saw him, then it was just one more way to make sure the Bennet family was safe. After all, if the people he robbed knew that the money was ending up in the hands of a widow and a group of orphaned kids… it wouldn’t end well. But Jack knew that he was treading on a thin line, if anyone found out who he was, it would be all over. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t last much longer. He had been making plans for a while now to leave, maybe found out where he’d been before he’d stumbled to the town. He had stolen more and more, from the most influential people of the town. O’Malley was his last target and now that he was broke, it was time for Jack Frost to turn into snow and disappear into the wind.

Preferably before getting the crap beat out of him. He wasn’t exactly holding his breath on that one though.

“Jack…” Mrs. Bennet whispered again and the boy tightened his hug. “You shouldn’t have taken from him. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of before I… I… I’m leaving. I’ve been planning this for a while.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry.”

There was a bright peal of laughter from outside. And Mrs. Bennet sighed. “This is going to break their hearts.”

“I know.” Suddenly the teen grinned, even as his eyes watered. “That’s why I’m not sticking around for you to tell them.” He whirled and disappeared, leaving the woman standing alone as he attempted to contain his tears. This was the worst part. He loved the children; he’d cared for them for three years and played with them nearly every day. He was glad that it had snowed the night before. He wanted to have a good last memory with them, even if Jamie did think it was odd how long he’d hugged them all when they wanted to stop the game.

No. He wouldn’t think about that now. He had to get to Sandy’s, finish his preparations and skip town. He wouldn’t think about Jamie. Or Sophie and her eternally messed up hair… Monte and his desire to learn to read… Pretty little Pippa… Strong Cupcake with her beautiful smile… The twins, funny and so different for being so alike... NO! Focus. He turned into an alleyway, a shortcut to Sandy’s, and pulled out a well worn bag. Exchanging the blue cloak for his brown and gripping his purse tightly, the teen rushed off to the stables.

“Sandy!” He cried in joy when he entered the stables and found the short man tending to one of the horses. “Guess what!”

The blond frowned at Jack and wagged his finger chidingly in front of the lad’s face.

“Oh. So you heard. I know, I know. It was stupid to go after O’Malley bla bla bla. Anyway! I finally have enough! You haven’t sold her yet, right?”

The mute rolled his eyes but smiled fondly at the teen and shook his head, not that the boy noticed. He was already walking to his usual horse stall. A grey and white dappled head stuck out as the boy neared and nickered softly. The horse was fairly short and furry, similar to Will’s horse from the night before, but not quite the same. The grey horse had longer legs and a thinner muzzle, though there was certainly no less intelligence in its eyes. “Hey Wind, I’m back.” The boy set his staff beside the stall door and gently stroked the mare’s muzzle, staring into her eyes.

_About time._

He laughed and handed Sandy his purse with a grin. “It’s all there. Just enough.”

He was petting the horse again when he felt a hand tug on his shirt. Sandy was looking at him in concern and was pantomiming eating.

Jack shifted uncomfortably. “Don’t worry, I already ate.”

Sandy shook his head and pointed to the road.

            “Um, I didn’t really think of food for the trip. But I’ll be fine.?” The kids needed it more than him, and he knew how to handle being hungry.

            Sandy looked unimpressed and pretended to eat again, pointing at Wind when he’d finished.

            “I’m sure there’s pleanty of places she can graze on the trail, right?”

            He got a slushball to the face for that.

            “Okay okay. I get it, snow equals no grass on the trails. Can’t you just give me a couple bags of oats or something? I’m the best source of advertising you’ve got! I mean, yesterday I told those travelers…” He looked around the stable, smiling when he recognized the shaggy form of Tug. “See! You wouldn’t have those horses here if it wasn’t for me. Please!”

            Sandy frowned and seemed to consider before pulling out three oat bags, then frowned and rummaged around for a saddle bag to hold them. Jack rode bareback, but the bags could just sit behind him. Once the supplies were lined out in front of him the mute held out a handful of small coins. The price. Jack frowned. It was a _lot_ less than it should have been, but still… he had given Mrs. Bennet everything he had left. Finally he sighed. He really should have foreseen something like this.

            “Alright.” He pat his horse’s nose and made his way out the door, pondering grabbing his staff but ultimately deciding to leave it behind. He wouldn’t be gone long. Jack ruffled Tug’s mane as he passed. The tiny horse snorted in reply. “I’ll be back.”    


	3. Horace

Horace sighed to himself as he hefted the full water skins up higher on his back, leaving the well behind. The water was fresh and cool, and it was always nice to have your own stores of waters on the open seas, just in case. The sweets shop Will had heard about wasn’t due to open for a little while still, and the two rangers had gone to the local market to pick up some extra food and supplies. They had long ago decided that Horace wasn’t allowed to go to the market with them, especially not if they were getting groceries, so he had been volunteered to collect water for the journey.   

            The man glanced at the sun, noting that the sweets shop should be opening soon. As his returned his gaze to straight ahead he caught sight of a woman looking his way. For a moment the young knight though that he had caught the lady’s gaze, only to realize that she wasn’t staring at him, but something behind him. Horace almost turned to look as well, before nearly freezing in place. He recognized the look in the woman’s eyes. It was the way people watched a fight or criminals watched others commit a crime. His senses heightened past simple observation. Whatever that look was for, it meant trouble. Suddenly there was the slightest, smallest feel of a tug on his purse, as though a wind had brushed against it.

            Immediately the young man sprang into motion, lashing out lightning-fast with his arm to connect with a thin wrist, and wrenching his body around to use the full force of his strength to pin his capture to the wall of a nearby alley. His other hand gripped his knife to instinctually bring it against the thief’s throat. All this took place in less than a second, and Horace found himself staring into the wide blue eyes and snowy white hair of a young teen, the boy’s hand still deep in his purse.

            For a few precious instances there was nothing but a shocked silence as both young men processed what exactly had happened. Just as Horace’s mind finished catching up with his body he was startled by the sound of low chuckling. The chuckles got louder, turning into full-blown laughter as the teen flashed him a bright grin. “You caught me! That was great!” He called between laughs and Horace felt his grip on the boy’s wrist slacken a little in surprise. “No one’s ever been fast enough to catch me before. Impressive!”

            With a shake of his head Horace felt himself relax a little, though his grip on the knife remained steady. “What do you think you’re doing?”

            “Robbing you.”

            “I can see that! Why?”

            “Um… for money?” The teen answered, making Horace blush with embarrassment. Usually he only felt this stupid talking with rangers.

            “I know that!”

            “Then I really don’t see what the interrogation is all about.” He answered with a cheeky grin. “That was pretty cool though! You’re really fast. I don’t think any-“ Suddenly the boy gasped, weaseling out of Horace’s slackened grip only to hide behind the muscular young man.

            Horace looked around to see a large and intimidating man stalking down the street, two muscular henchmen following behind, all three calling out for the ‘dirty pickpocketing brat’ to show himself. The white haired teen whimpered slightly, his hands gripping air as though missing a weapon they usually held. Horace looked at the teen for a moment, catching sight of startling blue eyes begging for him to be quiet. After a moment the men continued down the street and disappeared, the teen letting out a relieved gasp behind him.

            “Thanks.” The boy mumbled, moving to disappear down the road before stopping and seeming to battle with himself for a moment. Finally he pulled a handful of coins out of his purse. Keeping one, he tossed the rest to the young knight. “I guess you can have those back.” He said reluctantly.

            Horace reached for his purse, feeling it much lighter than normal. When he looked up again, the kid had disappeared. Grumbling to himself the young man debated what to do, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth it. He didn’t want to be late, and it was only a coin after all. Compared to what the boy could have taken- when did he grab it anyway? Did he sneak it out of his purse when Horace held him against the wall- it was almost nothing. And the kid was so skinny, it was probably for a meal or something or- “Horace!” His rambling thoughts ended as Will’s voice called his name.    

            The young knight looked up in surprise, seeing the rangers waving to him from up the street. Horace hurried up to meet with them, face still pensive.

            “Are you alright?” Will asked in concern.

            Horace shook his head, deciding that whatever had just happened with the thief didn’t really matter. He would just have to be more aware of his surroundings in the future. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking.”

“Always a dangerous pastime.” The younger ranger responded with a cheeky grin, Halt nodding in agreement. Horace sighed and rolled his eyes good-naturedly as Will chuckled. “Come on, we was just coming to get you. The shop should be opening any time now.”

            “Coming.” The trio made their way down the streets to the sweets shop they had found earlier. As they neared a loud commotion sounded, Will recognizing Black O’Malley’s gruff voice.

            “So I’m supposed to believe he just disappeared without telling any of you where he was off to.”

            “It’s true!” A childish voice called. “He came over to play in the snow like always, but then he left and Mama… Mama told us…”

            “We don’t want to talk about this anymore!” A wavering young voice called when the first broke. “We don’t know where he went! If we did we’d be…”

            “Yeah!” A third. “Just leave us alone.”

            “Go! Go!” A fourth cried, even younger sounding than the rest.

            “And I suppose you don’t know what he did with the money ‘neither.” Another gruff adult voice said.

            “Of course not!” One of the childish voices yelled, a little too quickly. Luckily another spoke up to cover them.

            “He never tells us what he does with the money,” A young voice one could only describe as nerdy spoke up. “He won’t give any of us any ‘cause Mrs. Bennet won’t let him stay at the house.”

            O’Malley huffed to himself as the children clamored with agreeing complaints. “Greedy little brat.”

            The three travelers turned to see the smuggler and his pair of lackeys attempting to intimidate a group of children in front of an empty and dark sweets shop. The kids didn’t seem terribly afraid, glaring at the three with tearstains still on the cheeks of many of their faces. Many of them were toting large bags with pictures of candy on them, and all seemed to be around the age of ten with the exception of the toddler hiding behind the foremost boy’s legs. O’Malley knelt down to the children’s height. “Just let your friend know next time he dares to show his face, I’m waiting for him.”

            Suddenly, with a bout of surprising bravery the brown haired boy standing in front of the toddler stepped forward. “You’re the reason he left aren’t you?” He asked with a surprising amount of rage. “You made Jack leave!”

            The other children followed the first, rage overtaking their fear. The criminal simply laughed. “That brat’s own stupidity made him leave. If he hadn’t decided to cross me then you’d still have you little playmate. Thief took a bite bigger than he could chew, got scared, and split town.”

            “Shut up!” The first kid yelled. “Jack isn’t afraid of you!”

            “Yeah!” A girl yelled. “He wouldn’t leave town because you scared him. He isn’t afraid of anything!”

            “Especially not you.” A boy that reminded Will and Horace of their ward mate George piped up.

The criminals stepped forward with a growl. _Thwak. Thud._

            An arrow appeared imbedded in a wall a scant inch away from the smuggler and thief. All eyes turned to where the projectile had come from, landing on the form of Halt, bow still raised with Will’s loaded one waiting beside it. “I believe the children asked you to leave.” The grizzled ranger growled.

            The three criminals glared but finally O’Malley just scoffed. “Whatever. I’m sure Jackie-boy will get the message soon enough.”

            As the three left the Arualen’s continued to watch until they were completely gone. The group of kids were staring at the strangers hesitantly. Will frowned. “Are you guys alright? Do they harass you a lot?”

            The lead boy shook his head. “Not really. He’s just mad because Jack took his money last night.”

            “Serves him right.” A large girl murmured.

            The others all nodded in agreement, still eyeing the armed strangers warily. _It really shows the tone of a town when the children talk openly of stealing and won’t go within twenty feet of a stranger._ Will hid his disturbed thoughts behind a kind smile and deliberately set his bow down. He could almost feel the confusion of his companions. The young ranger was turning to explain when Halt’s eyes suddenly shone with understanding and he nodded his head to the empty store. Horace’s mouth dropped into an ‘O’ of understanding as he eyed the bursting bags that the children held.

The pair stepped back a little, Horace because he wasn’t keen on setting down his weapons in a town like this and Halt because he wasn’t exactly the best with children. Turns out little kids weren’t fond of gruff old men who gave out smiles sparingly, who knew?

            The children relaxed only minutely as he lay down his arms, their hands tightening over their bags. “So you guys know Jack too? Seems like he’s popular around here. My name’s Will.”

            “You know Jack?” One of a pair of twins asked.

            “I met him last night. I actually helped him take O’Malley’s purse.”

            “Will!” Horace exclaimed, surprised at his friend. Halt’s brows rose nearly into his hairline. The younger ranger winced, realizing that he had perhaps left out a couple of explanation the night before, but kept his eyes on the children.

            “Really?” One of the girls asked, and many of the children began to relax only to freeze again at the foremost lad’s cold declaration.

            “I don’t believe you.” All eyes turned to the brunette boy.

            “Why not?” Will asked, surprised.

            “Jack doesn’t ever need help. And if he did he wouldn’t ask a stranger.” _He’d ask us._ Will could see the last three words in the child’s expression as plainly as if the boy had spoken aloud.

            “Well, I didn’t really know I was helping him at the time.” The ranger said with a chuckle. “He was very kind, showing up in the rain in the middle of the night to lead me to the tavern. It wasn’t until much later that night that I realized he’d been picking my pockets the while time.”

            He could see the children begin to relax, even as his friends became more and more shocked by the story. “He’d swiped a gold I’d brought to bribe O’Malley for information and was playing with it in his seat. O’Malley grabbed the coin from him the second he came in, but he made a grave mistake.”

            “What?” One of the children asked, looking like they were listening to a particularly interesting fairytale.

            “When he put the coin away, he accidentally showed Jack exactly where his purse was. After that, your friend just had to start a shouting match with Black, in which he conveniently yelled that he had any information anyone would want cheaper, and nick the purse during his escape.” Most of the children had relaxed completely, but the boy in the front still seemed unconvinced. “Then he got me to leave by trying to steal my horse. He gave me back the coin and said it was payment for my help.”

            Finally the last boy seemed convinced. “Now _that_ seems like Jack. I’m Jamie and this is my sister Sophie.”

            Will grinned as the last of the children relaxed and he was treated to about a half dozen names in young, high voices. “So, did you use the money Jack gave you to clear out the candy shop?”

            Immediately several faces closed up. “Jack doesn’t give us any money,” The children denied. Will immediately nodded.

            “Okay, okay. Sorry, I forgot that you already told O’Malley that.” It was hard not to glance at his friends for help, to see what they thought about the vehement denial, but he knew the children’s trust in him was thin at best. “How did you get all that candy then?”

            “Mr. Bunnymund is going away for a while.” Jamie replied.

            “Like everyone else.” One of the twins interjected with a quiet sniffle.

            “He said we could have what was already made cause it would go stale.” Monte said.

            “Away?” This time Will did chance a look behind him to see frustration well up in his friends’ faces. “Do you guys know where?”

            “No. People keep leaving but nobody says where.”

            “Well I’m really sorry to hear that. I hope your friends come back soon.”

            “Oh! Did you want to buy some sweets from Mr. Bunnymund? We could still sell it to you!”

            “Jamie!” Some of the kids admonished, but Pippa scolded them, saying that the money would do them better than candy and they could never hope to eat it all anyway.  

            “Sorry,” Will answered. “We just wanted to talk to-“

            “What do you have?” Both Rangers had to consciously fight to keep from rolling their eyes as Horace’s voice interrupted.

            As the mighty warrior began rummaging through the children’s treats, Will made his way to Halt with a frown. “What now?”

            “Well, it seems that both your informant and the man he referred you to have conveniently left town.”

            The young ranger frowned. “I don’t think it’s like that.”

            “It may just be me being my usual grouchy, pensive self, but it seems the more I learn about this boy the less I like.”

            Will shook his head with a small smile. “You wouldn’t think that if you met him. Then again, maybe you would with your grouchy ways.”

            Halt shook his head, ignoring the barb as Horace handed the children a handful of coins and stood. “Well, it seems all of our Jack leads have run dry and I doubt Black O’Malley will want to talk to us after we almost put an arrow through him.”

            “Maybe that Sandy guy knows something. After all, if all of the horses are in his stable then he probably hears a lot.” Horace offered.

            Will nodded. “Good idea.” As the trio left the ranger turned back to call one final time to the children. “By the way, last night your friend told me he was leaving. He’s been planning this for a long time, so you won’t have to worry about him taking care of himself. And he certainly wasn’t afraid of O’Malley.”

            The group left to cheers and ‘thank you’s from the children, even if several of them were bittersweet in their calls. They said nothing for a while, each trapped in their own thoughts. Finally Horace spoke up.

            “I think I met Jack.”

            Will’s head jerked up. “Really? When?”

             “I was pickpocketed when I came back from getting water. It was a kid, around the age we were when we became apprentices, weird white hair and a big grin.”

            “That sounds like him.”

            Halt, however, frowned. “That seemed a little specific for the glimpse of a pickpocket.”

            “Oh, I caught him. He seemed really surprised at first, too. But then he just said that no one had managed to do it before and started laughing.”

            “That was definitely him.”

            “He still managed to get a good sized coin off of me. I-” Laughing sounded, interrupting the knight. “It wasn’t that funny.”

            “Wasn’t me.” Will responded, both turned to Halt but he just fixed them with his skeptical ‘ranger stare’. The three Arualens turned to see that they were already in front of the stables, the laughter coming from within.

              Cautiously the group went through the door, Will and Horace completely freezing at the sight of a brightly grinning Jack Frost clinging tightly to the neck of a long-legged, shaggy grey mare. Sandy was smiling sadly, patting the horse as well.

            “Jack!” The young ranger called, and the teen’s head shot towards him.

            “Hey Will. These must be the friends… Oh. Um, hey knife-dude, didn’t really expect to see you again. Sorry, no refunds. I already spent the money.”

            “So,” Halt began, eyeing the teen critically. “This is Jack Frost.”

            “Yup, and who are you Mr. Grim Greybeard?”

            Halt looked like he was torn between smiling and glaring as he answered. “Halt O’Carrick, senior member of the Ranger corps.” Usually he wasn’t fond of spouting a title, but he was curious as to how the strange teen would react.

            The teen snorted and jumped to crouch, actually crouch, on top of the horses back in one fluid leap. “Ooh, Impressive. And you, o man of great reflexes?”

            “Horace Altman, uh, Knight?”

             “And it seems you all know my name, so that’s covered. Have you met Wind?” The horse nickered as though in greeting and Will and Horace couldn’t help but grin.

            A smile ghosted across Halt’s face as well, but before the teen could go any farther he stepped forward with a scowl. “Care to explain the wild goose chase?”

            A look of pure confusion crossed the teens face, for a moment his face scrunched up in concentration, as if trying to remember a grand prank he had played on the three strangers but nothing came to mind. “What do you mean?”

            Before Halt can reply there was a knock at the barn doors and a man stuck his face in, calling for Sandy. The stout blonde smiled and took an already saddled horse out of one of the stalls before turning back and waving goodbye to the group. “See you Sandy!” Jack called out. “Have fun on your trip. So what goose chase are you talking about?”

            “The sweets shop was closed, completely empty.”

            The teen’s head cocked to the side. “Really? He should have been open by now. You didn’t happen to see a muscular, tattooed guy with grey hair and a weird accent hanging around did you? ”

            Will shook his head. “There were a bunch of kids there-” Jack winced but otherwise didn’t interrupt. “- apparently he was leaving town, told them so this morning.”

            The teen looked pensive for a moment. “Hmm. They must already be preparing to leave. Of course, they won’t really go until Sandy- SANDY! Oh man, if he just left and Bunny’s gone then- Come on, we gotta hurry!” He jumped off his horse to throw open the door of the three Aruelen horses’ stalls. 

            “What are you-“

            “Come on! They’re going to be leaving soon! If we can’t catch them then you might as well kiss any chance you had at finding Tennyson goodbye.”

            The three shared a glance, Halt and Horace still unsure about the criminal teen. Will however, had no such worries. He had seen Jack at work, and had seen the pure devotion of the children. Kids were generally a good judge of character, and so was he. Without further ado the young ranger hurried to saddle Tug, the horse’s ears twitching with excitement as it sensed the tension in the room. Horace shrugged and began to saddle his horse as well. He was a warrior after all, and warriors trusted their instincts. Jack, thief or no, didn’t really seem like a bad kid.  Halt waited a second more, ingrained paranoia making him hesitate a longer than his younger and more trusting companions, until he eventually listened to his instincts as well and hoisted the saddle over his animal companion’s back. The ranger horses were deadly still, sensing the matter of emergency, and even Kicker was well behaved, despite the excitement in the air. Within moments the four were galloping through the streets, their horse’s hooves creating a dust of dirt behind them.

* * *

 

Jack led the trio to the port, stopping just before the docks. He pointed to a large ship at the end of the dock, its outsides inlaid with a dark redwood. Even from far away they could hear they could hear emphatic yelling in a strange and foreign language. The Aruelens shared an uncomfortable glance as they neared at a slower pace, the voice becoming even louder. “Yeah, I know he can seem a little… much, but he’s a pretty good guy. A pirate, just like everyone else here, but one of the better ones. If he ends up with any toys or anything he’ll give ‘em to the orphans where most people just throw them away. He’s almost… jolly, as long as you aren’t on his bad side. He’s wicked with a sword, and can fight almost anyone bare handed. North looks like an old man, but you couldn’t find a better sailor. Or thief for that matter.”

            Will chuckled, thinking fondly of Erak. “He sounds almost like a Skandian.”

            “Close. He calls himself a Cossack, kinda like Skandians except from farther North. Apparently the two of them fight all of the time.” The boy froze as they neared, his expression contemplative. “I was hoping you guys could convince Bunnymund to take you. Now I have to find a way to get all of us onto the boat.”

            Halt frowned. “Why can’t you just talk to him? I thought you were friends.”

            “Well, we aren’t really friends per say… let’s just say I know him a lot better than he knows me.” His expression became bitter for less than a second, the look quickly sliding off of his face to be replaced with a smile. “Unfortunately, his Yetis know exactly who I am, which means it’s always pretty hard to get in.”

            “Yetis?” Halt asked, a single brow raising.

            “Big, hairy Cossacks that don’t speak English. You’ll get it when you see them.” The three strangers shared an unconvinced glance, but Jack paid it no mind, musing to himself. “So then, how are we gonna get in there? With all this hustle and bustle I would usually try the sneaky-silent method, but that might be hard with all of us. Plus, what would we do with the horses, even if we could take them they would make a lot of noise.”

            Will chuckled. “Almost as much noise as Horace.”

            The knight glared at his friend but didn’t bother protesting. Jack laughed brightly, his expression turning mischievous. “Of course, with the horses…”


End file.
